


Wake Up Call

by Weevilo707



Series: Maleficent AU [2]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Forgiveness, Gen, Inspired by Maleficent (2014), magcretia baby angus, sequel to once upon a dream
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-19
Updated: 2019-06-19
Packaged: 2020-05-14 22:51:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19282822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Weevilo707/pseuds/Weevilo707
Summary: Sure, everything had turned out fine in the end, but that didn't mean Taako had to forgive Lucretia. He didn't give a shit what other people thought he should do or what her reasoning was, but he'd be just fine never interacting with her again for the rest of his life.Except of course, that wasn't what happened.





	Wake Up Call

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DarkrystalSky](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkrystalSky/gifts).



Taako was suspicious, but Angus had always been hard to say no to. Damn near impossible, really.

“What are we doing here again?” he asked, letting Angus lead him through the halls of the human palace. It wasn’t his favorite place to be, but Angus lived here now, and Lup spent a good portion of her time hanging around too.

As long as he avoided certain people, it was worth it.

“I wanna learn a spell but I’m having some problems with it,” Angus said, which wasn’t completely unbelievable. Still, there was something there he wasn’t telling him, that much was obvious.

“What spell?” Taako asked casually.

“Um, a magic one,” Angus said, not suspicious in the slightest. Taako didn’t call him out though, figuring he’d let the kid surprise him. He regretted that once they finally got to the room. Angus held the door open for him, and as soon as Taako was through he heard it slam shut behind him, then the sound of something being shoved in front of it.

“What the- Ango?” he asked, whipping around.

“Sorry sir! This is for your own good!” Angus shouted back through the door, and then the sound of footsteps as he ran off. Taako grumbled, trying the handle and yeah, whatever was there was blocking it good. Turning around, he went to survey the rest of the room to find some other way to get out.

And saw Lucretia, staring at him in wide-eyed surprise. Immediately Taako’s mood shifted from befuddled irritation to anger.

“Of course, this was  _ your _ idea,” he snapped. There was a window, and Taako started walking over to it. They were pretty high up, but he could get down with magic or something.

“It wasn’t- Barry said he needed something and told me to wait here,” she said. Taako scoffed, but from the shock and confusion on her face and the fact that she was giving him as wide a berth as possible, he was pretty sure she was telling the truth.

“Idiots need to mind their own business,” he grumbled. Lucretia was staring at him as he inspected the window, and out of the corner of his eye he could see that thoughtful look on her face. That caution barely holding back whatever she wanted to say.

“Yes, they should,” she agreed. It was quiet for a moment, and then she sighed. “It’s- While we're here I supposed, Taako, I don’t ever expect you to forgive me, but I do wish you’d understand, just… let me explain,” she started. Taako had managed to get the window open at this point, and boy it was a long way down. Eh, he could probably manage it.

“Oh believe me, I  _ understand  _ perfectly well. You always wanted power, and you fucking got it. Everything turned out good in the end, so who cares right? You got your crown and I only got to think my sister was dead for a  _ decade, _ no biggie,” he snapped, and he could see the anger and frustration on Lucretia’s face as he spoke, but he didn’t care. He started climbing out of the window, but before he could get more than a leg out he felt something overtake him, completely freezing his form.

He could still move his eyes, and he could see Lucretia pointing a wand at him. He had no idea she could do magic.

“You’re wrong. Taako, it was never about  _ power. _ Please just, I know you don’t want to hear it, but I promise after I explain I won’t ever talk to you again, if you still want me out of your life,” she said. Taako couldn’t nod, couldn’t do much of anything, and so all he could do was let Lucretia start to explain.

\---

Lucretia knew the king’s decree would cause nothing but terrible bloodshed. Maybe it wouldn’t kill the twins, in fact it probably wouldn’t. They were powerful, skilled magic users. They could handle themselves.

So many others would still die though. They would have to defend themselves. Innocent, desperate people who saw this as their only chance to better their lives. Who might start going against less skilled fae in an attempt at appeasing the king another way. As more people died tension would escalate, and there was no way to stop it than to cut it off at the pass.

Lucretia had intended to do just that. She didn’t have much time. On her way out of the palace she stopped by Barry’s small workshop. As soon as he opened the door she slipped inside, closing it behind them. When she put a finger up to her lips he got the message, casting a quick spell to keep the area soundproof.

“I need you to make a spell, something that’ll make it appear like someone’s died,” she said. Barry stared at her in confusion and surprise, taking a moment to process her request.

“I- okay? I mean, I can give it the old college try? Why? What do you need something like that for?” he asked.

“The king put an order out on Lup and Taako, for the throne. Barry, you know that’ll only end in destruction. Please, if we can just make it so everyone thinks they’ve died long enough for the king to pass, we can fix it,” she begged. She didn’t have the time to explain more than that, but thankfully Barry seemed to understand, nodding.

“I’ll see what I can do,” he said, and Lucretia felt an immense sense of relief at that.

“I’ll go get them now,” she said. She went straight to the forest, and as soon as the twins were asleep she quickly ran to get the cart she’d brought so she could transport them. She had to work fast, people were sure to be coming soon.

She managed to get Lup onto the cart and was heading back for Taako when she heard the voices. Shouting, and the occasional bark of a dog.

She looked down at where Taako was sleeping in the cave, heard the people getting closer, and she had to make a decision. She couldn’t risk anyone seeing them. She had to trust that the cave was hidden away enough that the hunters wouldn’t spot him. If this worked, she could come back for Taako later, once things had died down.

Not wasting anymore time, she ran off back towards the kingdom of humans.

Everything started going wrong once she approached the castle. Her cart was covered, but she didn’t manage to get into the palace before several guards stopped her, their spears drawn and blocking her path.

“What’s in the cart?” one asked, keeping a spear trained on Lucretia as the other went towards the cart. Lucretia forced herself to stand up straighter, biting back the terror in her chest. She couldn’t lie, the other guard was already lifting the tarp, taking a staggered step back in surprise.

“I’ve brought a  _ tribute  _ for the king, as per his decree. I think you’ll find it to his liking,” she said. If she could just get Lup inside and to Barry, they could still go through with this plan.

The sleep potion wouldn’t last much longer. She needed to be quick.

“O-of course,” the one guard said, being turning to shout over his shoulder. “Guards! The Lady Lucretia had brought one of the foul rulers of the fae!” he said, and Lucretia felt her heart sink as she was led inside, rows of guards escorting her and pushing the cart along side her, carrying it up to the king’s chambers.

“My king!” the head guard started. There was a flank of guards at the door, two by Lucretia’s side, and another two by Lup on the cart. “As you have decreed, the lady Lucretia has brought one of the fae twins to you, so that you may have her head.”

King Kalen slowly sat up in bed, coughing before sneering as the sight of Lup.

“Well, I guess one is better than none,” he grumbled.

It was the worst time possible for Lup to wake up, so that was exactly what happened. Immediately as she began to move spears were pointed towards her. Lucretia could see the terror and confusion and  _ betrayal _ on her face as she took in the surroundings, as Lup saw her, and she couldn’t say anything.

That pain quickly shifted into rage, and Lup’s hands started smoldering, the cart set aflame as she sprung out of it. If she wasn’t so outnumbered, if she hadn’t still been so groggy from the sleep potion, Lucretia didn’t doubt that Lup would have been able to fight her way free. As it was, Lup only managed a few moments before she was restrained, cursing and shouting until they bound her mouth as well.

“Burn her! Let her have a taste of her own damn flames!” Kalen shouted, going into a raspy, bloody cough afterward. Lucretia followed, trying her best to mask her horror as they led Lup to a pyre.

All she could do was stand and watch as they tied Lup to a tall beam, beginning to build up sticks and kindling around her.

Lucretia nearly jumped when she felt someone grab her arm. It was the barest amount of relief when she turned, seeing Barry standing there. He was wearing a red cloak, the hood pulled up to hide his face somewhat. This close though, she could see the horror there.

“What  _ happened?”  _ he snapped, his eyes glancing over to Lup, still struggling.

“I was caught bringing her in. Please, you have to do  _ something,” _ she begged in a whisper back. Without hesitating Barry nodded, going over to grab some of the kindling, and Lucretia watched as he knelt right in front of where Lup was tied. From where she was standing, Lucretia could just barely read his lips as he looked up at Lup, terror and determination on his face.

“It’s a trick, so they won't go after anymore fae. I won’t let them kill you Lup,” he whispered. There was a pause, and Lucretia could make out the subtle motion of Lup nodding. Before he stood, Barry started whispering something under his breath, a spell Lucretia couldn’t understand, but she could feel the desperation and love and risk imbued in it.

As he stood up and stepped back, the first torches were brought down onto the pyre.

It didn’t work. But it didn’t not work either.

\---

Taako felt sick. With everything Lucretia said, he wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but it wasn’t that. Some half-assed platitude about how things had gotten out of hand, how it wasn’t supposed to last as long as it did, something like that. He had no idea how the fuck he felt about this.

And he still couldn’t fucking move or speak.

Lucretia was quiet for a moment, like she was waiting for him to answer her. Then she seemed to realize what the issue was, quickly dropping the spell.

“Fucking… had to freeze me in the most uncomfortable position possible, huh?” he grumbled, pulling his leg back inside of the window, shaking it out for good measure.

“Sorry about that,” Lucretia said, the barest hint of amusement in her voice. It would have been nice if things weren't so… this. After a moment Taako sighed, his entire being uncomfortable as fuck.

“I still don’t fucking trust you,” he said, and Lucretia sighed, a distinct sadness there.

“Of course,” she said, not sounding surprised, and Taako could have left it at that. Part of him really wanted to but he didn’t.

“I still don’t trust you, but I… get it now. Okay? It wasn’t clear cut as I thought, I guess,” he muttered. He could see the relief on Lucretia’s face hearing that.

“That’s all I wanted,” she said.

It took some finagling to still get out of the room, but it was a bit easier with Lucretia’s help. He tried not to think much about it after that. It was behind them, and Lucretia said she was fine with him never talking to her again. He could just try and forget about all of this bullshit and move on.

Instead he found himself in her room a few days later. He couldn’t stop thinking about this, and he might as well do  _ something _ about it.

He saw Lucretia jump as she came into the room, drawing a wand on him before she saw who it was and lowered it. There was still clear surprise and confusion on her face, and Taako didn’t wait for her to ask what was up before speaking.

“I want you to give Angus the crown as soon as he’s old enough,” he said, Lucretia blinking in surprise. “You did whatever it was you needed to do, but I can’t trust you on the throne any longer than I need to,” he added. He expected some resistance from Lucretia, but after a moment she nodded.

“I think that would be for the best, yes,” she said, and this time it was Taako’s turn to be surprised.

“Oh. Alright then. Cool,” he said, not sure what to do with her just… agreeing. “I guess that’s uh, it then,” he said, and Lucretia smiled softly at him, nodding.

“I guess so,” she said. There was more he could have said, more he probably should have, but instead Taako turned and left. Taako still wasn’t sure how to feel about all of this. He’d rather not feel anything, but he was. Still, he managed to ignore it for a pretty damn long time.

Then Angus’s coronation day came, and Taako couldn’t really ignore it anymore. Or well, he could, but he didn’t so much want to. He wouldn’t admit that to fucking anyone, but while he hadn’t forgiven her, maybe he could start to work towards that. Or something. Whatever he was trying to do, he guessed this letter could be the start.

\---

Lucretia was so very proud of Angus. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that he would be a wonderful leader, a better one than she ever was.

She just wished she could be there to support him today. Still, she wasn’t going to push her luck, and she wouldn’t ruin this day for him either.

She blinked in surprise as a fancy letter with a bright pink seal appeared in a swirl of magic. It was obvious who had sent it from the outside, but she had no idea what it was for. Cautiously, she opened the letter up and read it. It only took a moment, it wasn’t particularly long.

_ Even though you didn’t invite me to his christening (by the way, still a dick move Luce) here’s your invitation. I want no fucking curses on your part. _

Lucretia stared at the letter in shock for a few moments, before quickly getting herself ready. Luckily (or perhaps by design) the letter had gotten to her with just enough time for her to get over to the kingdom of Fae before the main event started.

When she caught Taako’s eye during the coronation, she gave him a quick smile, and to her surprise, he smiled back. It wasn’t much, but it was the start of something, and that’s all Lucretia could ask for.

**Author's Note:**

> a request for DarkrystalSky to write a little follow up of their previous maleficent au request! it was a lot of fun, i liked being able to explore more of what actually went down in order to explain some of the character motivations a bit better. 
> 
> as always, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!


End file.
